Scopus
Elsevier's abstract and citation database — the largest curated index of peer-reviewed literature.
At a Glance
- Publisher
- Elsevier
- Coverage
27,000+ active journals plus conference papers, books, patents
- Access
institutional subscription
- Free alternative
- OpenAlex
- Regional
included in India's ONOS; varies across the Global South.
Our Take
The workhorse of academic search — broader than Web of Science, more curated than Google Scholar. Its advanced syntax rewards the time invested. Blind spots: humanities, non-English journals, and regional literature (only ~3% Latin American journals). Pair with SciELO or OpenAlex for those.
Power Tips
- Proximity operators (Issue 1)
- self-citation-excluded counts (Issue 2)
- the EID field for dedup (Issue 3)
- preprints excluded from metrics (Issue 4).
Alternatives & Complements
Web of Science · OpenAlex · Dimensions.
Figures last verified: August 16, 2026